The Nugg Doctor follows the Denver Nuggets exclusively and sometimes provides glimpses back into some classic NBA and ABA historical moments. He is constantly compiling knowledge to his NBA IQ. He is always looking for more ways to amaze his fans with his eclectic knowledge. Don't see your favorite pro? No sweat, just request that the Nugg Doctor writes up an article on them so they aren't forgotten! Be sure to check the archives for legends your memory might need some refreshing on.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Late Comebacks Usually Fall Short

(AP Photo/Bob Owen)

(Boulder-CO) Game two was a sporadic affair for the Denver Nuggets. They had a hard time establishing any rhythm offensively, shot a frigid percentage from the field, didn’t get many friendly bounces, and shot themselves in the foot enough times to potentially lose much worse than they actually did to the Spurs, 97-88.

In the first half, the Nuggets were absolutely struggling offensively due to missing eleven lay-ups. That in combination with San Antonio switching to a zone defense confused Denver in half court sets and as a result limited the Nuggets to 34% from the field, one shot, and dictated the pace of the game. The Nuggets were also sloppy of the defensive boards allowing the Spurs to grab six offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone before surrendering nine at intermission. And when the buzzer sounded, the Nuggets had only mustered 41 points and found themselves down by eight.

Most coaches will tell you that the first three minutes of the second half are the most pivotal minutes of the game, and the Spurs obviously made note at the break by coming out with fire and extended their lead over the flat-footed Nuggets to eleven at the nine minute mark. Denver was getting out-hustled to every loose ball, was out-rebounded on both ends of the floor, and showed signs of fatigue when the Spurs were beating them down the floor for easy buckets. The Spurs would extend their lead to 14 at the close of the third quarter and the Nuggets were looking out of gas and without a map at the AT&T Center.

At this point in the game my stomach was in knots thinking about how easily the Nuggets could have mailed this game in already thinking about getting this series back to Denver, but they didn’t go out without a spirited fight which resulted in a lot of pride being restored for the Nuggets to take back with them to the Mile High City.

The Spurs held their biggest lead of the night, (17 points), with eight minutes remaining before the Nuggets picked themselves up by their bootstraps and went on a 23-9 point run which brought them back to within three, 91-88. The late comeback was spearheaded by Allen Iverson’s eight points, but as most late comebacks do, fell short down the stretch when the Nuggets hot shooting couldn’t be sustained.

As I mentioned before, the Nuggets all struggled offensively and it started with the dynamic duo. Carmelo Anthony concluded tonight’s game with a double-double of 26 points and ten rebounds after finishing the first half with just ten points and five boards. Allen Iverson started off the game 4-13 from the field, and if it wasn’t for his big fourth quarter, would have played one of his worst playoff games of his career. The Answer finished with 20 points and five assists, but just couldn’t find the cup shooting an icy 9-25 from the field overall.

On the defensive end, the Nuggets were led by Marcus Camby’s 18 rebounds and three first half blocks, but Denver had no stopping power for Tim Duncan’s 22 points, five assists, five blocks and seven rebounds. Nene’s spirited effort of 17 points and seven rebounds helped, but Duncan put his stamp on this game for the Spurs in a very stoic fashion.

Along with being plagued by poor shooting, (Denver finished shooting just 34-88), I must say that the Spurs reserves were the difference in this game. Manu led the charge with 17 points, but the San Antonio bench out-scored the Nuggets trio of back-ups, 30-7.

What is different about this game, and this series, from the situation two years ago is how the Nuggets showed the resiliency and pride of their character in the fourth quarter, whereas the 2005 Nuggets allowed the Spurs to take not only just a win in game two, but also Denver’s sense of confidence. The final eight minutes of this game proved to me that the Nuggets will not only be physically prepared, but more importantly mentally ready, when this series resumes on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center. And after the Nuggets have been in San Antonio for the last extended week, I know the city of Denver is going to be ready to welcome the Nuggets home with a down-right energized atmosphere for both games three and four.

This once seven game series has now become a five -game run to see who can hold onto their momentum with the Nuggets having three home games out of the possible remaining five. I still believe Nuggets Nation, do you?

3 comments:

This game was crazy. We knew it was gonna be one of those games and it was. It seemed as if all the loose balls went to the Spurs (and they did). 14 missed lay ups at halftime. The Spurs played good defense but we made a lot of mistakes that helped them out.And I can't truly understand how Allen Iverson, who averages over 8 free throws a game, gets no free throws. Especially considering he drove to the paint all night long.Regardless the chances of us winning this game were not great, and thanks to Nene and AI we had a nice little comeback to make those home games a little easier. We will win the series, go Nuggets!

well, I was not sure what to think in regards to this game. Denver did not match the intensity of the Spurs, that much was obvious. And I hope that if the Spurs play with this intensity the rest of the series, that Denver can match it.

But also, the game was very strange. All the missed layups where crazy, and the shots that normally fall for AI and company where not. Plus, the officiated was sporadic (especially with AI). So all that considered, I think the fact that Denver was in it at the end bodes well for this team.

But I saw them reverting back to some bad habits in this game, too much one on one, too many easy layups surrendered, etc. They need to get more contribution from Kleiza and JR, that will help.

The Spurs got some breaks in this one, so I think it just wasn't our night. Go Nuggets!